Tom is a member and former Chair of Stevens & Lee’s Estates and Trusts Practice Group. He concentrates his practice in estate and tax planning, fiduciary administration and the litigation and settlement of fiduciary matters. He serves as a mediator of disputes arising from the administration of trusts and estates and as an expert witness on fiduciary matters in Pennsylvania.
Tom was among the youngest lawyers ever admitted to membership in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, then the American College of Probate Counsel.
Tom chairs the Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission’s Advisory Committee on Decedents’ Estates Laws. He was instrumental in the drafting of Pennsylvania’s Uniform Trust Act (2006), Directed Trust Act (2024), and incorporation of the federal grantor trust rules into the taxation of settlors and beneficiaries of Pennsylvania trusts.
Tom is a frequent speaker for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute and other organizations and served on the planning committee for the Annual Estate Law Institute for several years.
- Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission Advisory Committee on Decedents’ Estates Laws, former Vice Chair; former Chair, Pennsylvania Uniform Trust Act Subcommittee
- American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Fellow
- Tower Health System, past Board Chair
- Reading Musical Foundation, past Board Chair
- Berks County Estate Planning Council, former President
- The Reading Public Museum Endowment Committee, Former Chair
- Berks County Bar Association
- Pennsylvania Bar Association
- American Bar Association
As published in Philadelphia magazine, Tom has been recognized as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer continually since 2004, having been selected by his peers as among the top 5 percent of lawyers in the Commonwealth in this fields of practice. He has also been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for nearly 30 years and was named 2014, 2015, 2019 and 2024 “Lawyer of the Year” in the Harrisburg area in the field of trusts and estates law and trusts and estates litigation.
Tom is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, a national organization of lawyers elected to membership by demonstrating the highest level of integrity, commitment to the profession, competence and experience.
Education
- Duke Law School, J.D., with distinction
- Dickinson College, B.A., summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa
Bar Admissions
- Pennsylvania
Court Admissions
- U.S. Tax Court
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
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- Reading
- Phone: 610.478.2084
- Fax: 610.988.0844
- Wealth Planning, Trusts and Estates
Tom is a member and former Chair of Stevens & Lee’s Estates and Trusts Practice Group. He concentrates his practice in estate and tax planning, fiduciary administration and the litigation and settlement of fiduciary matters. He serves as a mediator of disputes arising from the administration of trusts and estates and as an expert witness on fiduciary matters in Pennsylvania.
Tom was among the youngest lawyers ever admitted to membership in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, then the American College of Probate Counsel.
Tom chairs the Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission’s Advisory Committee on Decedents’ Estates Laws. He was instrumental in the drafting of Pennsylvania’s Uniform Trust Act (2006), Directed Trust Act (2024), and incorporation of the federal grantor trust rules into the taxation of settlors and beneficiaries of Pennsylvania trusts.
Tom is a frequent speaker for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute and other organizations and served on the planning committee for the Annual Estate Law Institute for several years.
Affiliations
- Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission Advisory Committee on Decedents’ Estates Laws, former Vice Chair; former Chair, Pennsylvania Uniform Trust Act Subcommittee
- American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Fellow
- Tower Health System, past Board Chair
- Reading Musical Foundation, past Board Chair
- Berks County Estate Planning Council, former President
- The Reading Public Museum Endowment Committee, Former Chair
- Berks County Bar Association
- Pennsylvania Bar Association
- American Bar Association
Recognition
As published in Philadelphia magazine, Tom has been recognized as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer continually since 2004, having been selected by his peers as among the top 5 percent of lawyers in the Commonwealth in this fields of practice. He has also been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for nearly 30 years and was named 2014, 2015, 2019 and 2024 “Lawyer of the Year” in the Harrisburg area in the field of trusts and estates law and trusts and estates litigation.
Tom is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, a national organization of lawyers elected to membership by demonstrating the highest level of integrity, commitment to the profession, competence and experience.
Education
- Duke Law School, J.D., with distinction
- Dickinson College, B.A., summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa
Bar Admissions
- Pennsylvania
Court Admissions
- U.S. Tax Court
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit